The First Spark
by Spt16
Summary: Telling the story of a war eighty years past and in the present day of a small village and the exploits of those who protect it. Some OC's starring JNPR
1. Prolouge

**Prologue**

"_**Let me tell you of these five great kingdoms,the Republic of Atlas,with a military heritage which stretches back through the ages. To the east Mistral a land of culture,markets and fairs. To the west the three siblings Vacuo abode of the merchant lords , the Empire of Vale home to the monarchs of flame who ruled with wisdom, foresight and great strength, and Ankh home of politics,the centre for the advancement of technology and constantly beset by Grimm...**_

The Sun's vibrancy slowly subsided and night took the street. Jasper loved this time of day, the quiet wind-swept streets were a retreat from the sweat and noise of the day. Someone had lighted the lamps earlier,preserving an eternal Dusk. He stopped to look at the contraptions with his dull red eyes.

_I will never get used to those._

He smiled at the thought and continued on his way passing by where the street met the road that passed through the village,a guard on the wooden palisade stepped down and turned.

" My shifts ends soon were you gonna be?"

"The Inn" Jasper replied knowing the coming reply.

"Jeez you'd think he'd run out of stories by now" Jasper's friend sighed "have a good one"

"you too" Jasper replied

He kept walking,the guard returning attentively to his post.

_Always prepared_

Jasper turned the corner confident in the safety of the village for another night. His destination lay before him,a light drizzle started to come down, the rain impacting against the cobblestone told Jasper to hurry on his way. The inn in question was a single storey building,more of a long hall in it's design the thick stone walls and reinforced roof gave it a feeling of permanence that the neighbouring wooden houses lacked. A warm yellow light flooded from the door onto the glistening street cobbles. The sound of conversation wafting down the street.

Jasper stepped into the doorway this was his favourite place,where one could find a drink,some friendly air and perhaps most importantly an old story. The warmth of the inn sweeps over him and quiet chatter fills the air.

Most Jaspers age would describe this place as dull at best,preferring music which thumped through the night and a strong drink to carry them to the morning, irrelevant of however uncomfortable that morning could prove to be.

He made his way to the counter,eyes wondering through the crowded tables. People content after a long days work to sat and talked with old friends. The keep eyed over the wind and rainswept young man in his patchwork red cloak and loose fitting workman's clothes which had long been worn from their once vibrant green,catching Jasper's eye.

"The usual?" he inquired.

"Yeah" Jasper replies, absently placing the required amount of lin on the table.

The keep scoops up the money and disappears to the Beer pump. A cursory glance at the Bar table revealed a soft grained texture warped and marked by long use,condensation...

_and probably more than a few spilt drinks_

Thought Jasper with a wry smile cracking over his face at memories of a certain coming of age party. He was awoken from his rumination by a cold sensation in his right hand ,the barkeep had left the drink with him and scurried off to deal with another worn traveller. The pint of amber liquid looked as enticing as ever,a light froth resting on the liquid. Jasper took a sip grateful for the warmth the drink imparted as the bitter taste ran through him.

_This'll last the night _he noted in satisfaction.

With drink in hand he shuffled through the crowd to the sound of pleasantries,apologies and probably more that a few muttered expletives. He reached his seat, kept open by long practice, and placed his drink the large circular table. This different from the others,a noticeable lack of scratches or stains adorned it's face. Settling into his seat,he smiled at the four others huddled around this side of the table.

A solitary sixth member sat across the table on a high backed chair. Lent on a fireplace was an old great-sword sheathed in tattered leather,a worn handle grip indicated long service to its master. The fire roaring behind him illuminated the table, a heavily read book in his hands,a drink much like Jasper's at his side and a candle standing tall beside him casting light on his reading material but leaving his face in shadow. He wore and old cloak of faded royal purple,and a simple attire although the reinforced hauberk was clearly visible,his appearance placed him as old in truth he was closer to ancient,yet his strength still radiated across the room.

He slid a book mark into place, the words being too precious to bend the page and put down his book,a slight smile across his face as he surveyed the five audience members huddled in silence across from him,his weathered green eyes moved to Jasper.

"Jasper,my lad you delayed the telling" his strong accent emphasising slight chagrin and a twinkle of amusement in his eye.

"long day" Jasper repliedwith an exaggerated sigh,nodding to the storyteller

"aye,and here's to many more" the old man finished,raising his drink to complete the toast.

The group joined in,a girl not paying enough attention to the drink in her hand gulped down a swig only to find herself coughing on inhaled liquid,she looked round, her small cat like ears flicking in embarrassment,but instead of laughter all the faunus received were chuckles and smiles from the less hurried participants in the toast.

The storyteller leaned forwards,allowing light to illuminate his worn features.

"Today I will tell the story of how the world you know today was forged,how it came to be that the likes of myself guard ,small villages..." he gestured around himself. "... so very far from the protection of the kingdoms,and how the very names you use were chosen.

Jasper leant back and sipped his drink as the man continued the grand introduction,an image of another story floating to the surface of his thoughts. This man young again half his face painted blue his thick accent carrying over the field of war as he charged toward his enemy the echoes of his cries of freedom,putting fear into his foes.

"There have been many great kingdoms to grace the soil of remnant but only five have stood the test of time Vale,Vacuo,Mistral,Atlas...Ankh"

And so the old warrior,storyteller..._hunter_,James Harper launched into a tale of ideologies and beliefs of monarchies and revolution a story more than eighty years past and of the single greatest war of man and faunus to ever rage across the world of remnant.

"_**Let me tell you of these five great kingdoms..."**_

* * *

**Author's Note **

**First ever creative thing ever, I wished I owned RWBY but...yeah please review I would love help with prose and structure ect ect also next time introducing actual RWBY characters mystery... intrigue...excitement(hopefully)...explosions(that's a lie) the second half of this intro and then after, the actual heroes (JNPR). Also this took a long time and I am new to this so sorry in advance about slow uploads ( I also kinda wanna see what people think). **

**A blatant book reference and also a gaming one find them and ill pretend to like you. **

**Anyway have a good one **

**See you round**


	2. A thief's reward

_**A thief's reward**_

_**"...one hundred and forty years ago the Grimm assault on Ankh became overwhelming. The kingdom called out to all others, claiming that they would not hold for the year. Atlas sent some 'specialists' in a meaningless gesture,Mistral could offer nothing of value, claiming thier hunter academy was too thinly stretched. Vacuo and Vale however **__**answered,Vacuo gathered its best, its foremost hunters and set forth. The monarchs answered with all the power they could muster. The young king of Vale riding out despite his advisers wishes using newly invented transport which ran on dust to reach Ankh as fast as possible. However other forces were in play and they did not desire to see the flame monarchs extend there influence over the failing kingdom of Ankh..."**_

* * *

Far from the village in which an old hunter told his story, a lone faunus ran across the wilderness between the kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo. It was pitch black, trying to keep to the path,the faunus felt rain and wind pressing against him,he was the Grey Fox, master thief for hire, ears twitching at every crunch and whistle as he sprinted down the lonely road, the yapping of beowolves sounded in the distance, he had outrun them for now.

Suddenly a flood light illuminated him from over the upcoming hill,he was stopped blinded by the sudden light,a voice called out from beyond the blinding light.

"This is captain Hieronymus Lex,stop and face justice, the items you have stolen will be returned to the museum"

A footstep shook the earth within the light an image began to form as the faunus's night vision was lost and he adjust to the light.

_A paladin an actual honest to Oum atlesian paladin hunting me across the wilderness_

The Grey Fox couldn't keep the smile of his face, coming to a halt at the foot of the hill,he looked up at the hulking metallic figure,wind and rain lashing across its frame,he could just about make out the cockpit. The stuffy overzealous ass sitting inside, a triumphant gin plastered across his red swollen face.

"So we seem to have reached an impass!" the thief shouted into the howling wind.

"Surrender and face justice" came the stoic reply

"I swear if they'd just sent the robot i could at least have a stimulating conversation before im vaporized"muttered the fox.

The flood light suddenly flickered into the sky as a Nevoremore perfectly camouflaged against the black,came thundering down from the sky, it had observed this oddly large human and determined in its infinite wisdom that the meal it would provide would be truly long lasting. As a result it lunged towards the paladin beak wide open hoping to engulf a tasty flesh snack before continuing its hunt of the smaller prey which was now running away.

_Another one_ thought the thief _well at least the agent had good info this time._

He had taken advantage of this distraction and ran through the war machine's legs and was now sprinting away with all his might. A sliver of dawn light illuminated the city of Vale in the distance he would make it by nine if he pushed himself.

He turned back to see the paladin grab the nevermore out of the air, bodily ripping of a wing in a spray of dark ichor before vaporising the head of the ovesized screaming crow with a single blast.

_Yes i definatly feel safer with large amounts of those surrounding every city i truly do_

The thief grimaced at the thought as he ran,further ecplosins vibrated through the air, evidence that the long back log of Grimm that had been chasing him had found something else to try and chew on.

_And best of luck with that,please if you guys could somehow take this pompous ass out i would be a very happy faunus._

A suden barrage of explosins indicated that such hopes were mostly likely to remain so, and further evidence of this sad state of affairs spirraled up to the air to announce the seeming permanance of the thiefs advesary,an ursa major kicked up into the air cartweeling back to the surface a gaping chunk missing from its torso.

The sheer number of grimm that the thief had attracted as he made his treck between the kingdoms over the past two weeks was staggering,however he had been expecting it,and his semblance which gave him incredible endurance which was perfect for the job.

Some time later the fox stopped running and took a breather,he had lost the 'finest' captain of the night watch,and as a result his gigantic following of Grimm were lost as well.

_This ended up being easier than expected _was the first thought that came to mind,as the thief lent against a tree,his thoughts wandered back to him accepting this contract.

* * *

_"So empty out this museum and deliver a grab bag to the client and sell the rest"_

_"not quite" replied the agent " there will be a grab bag, but im gonna tell you what your target item is"_

_"no thanks, thieves who know what thier stealing get shot by their grateful client"_

_"not in this case the client has reservations about that kind of behavior and anyway you know i wouldn't get you killed, your my best" the agent flashed a winning smile._

_Yeah I've seen that smile kill more than a few in my time mate,the thief grimaced at the thought_

_"Payment?"_

_"Untraditional,..."_

_The thief opened his mouth to refuse the job. _

_"...your target is the great museum of Vacuo..."_

_Fox's mouth clamped shut his sharp well defined features wore a look of disbelief._

_"...steal as much as you want including the desired item and the client will put you in contact with someone you will buy all items other than the desired one at full market price"_

_Light blue eyes widened in disbelief, a straight jawline dropping in a perfect 'o' of astonishment._

_"The meet point is Beacon academy in Vale,i will of course take my ten percent" another perfect smile._

_"Of course you will you jammy bastard" Fox replied __ruefully_

_He chuckled,"I don't know how you'll be contacted but the meet point is definitely the academy."_

_"so whats the item?"_

_The agent planted his hands on the table the dimly lit room filling with smoke from his lit but unused cigar._

_"It's a..."_

The Grey Fox was woken by a brazenly rude ray of sunshine,battering against his closed eyelids,the sun had shown its full face above the horizon, though after its unforgivably rude interruption he was surprised it wasn't so ashamed of itself that it just dipped back below the horizon.

The thief chuckled at his self centered thoughts,and set off for the meet point.

* * *

Some hours later he was another non-descript twenty something sitting at the cafe just outside beacon academy,gratefully chewing through a rather delicious Mistral inspired sandwich,his eyes never quite coming off the front gate which was barred to non-students,unless you had stolen a visitor pass from some poor bugger who had been refused entry due to his lack of said pass,but Grey Fox couldn't imagine anyone that would commit such a heinous act.

The thief finished his meal and wandered over to the gate,flashing his recently acquired pass at the guard who nodded, smiled and hit the required button. The old wrought iron gates slid open revealing an unobstructed view of the academy, the great central tower raising up to pierce the skies.

The thief strolled into the rather grandesque landing that lead to the school proper.

_So i guess i just wonder round have a gander and the client will find me_

The thief sighed at the ridiculousness of this arrangement. Forming a mental image of the client,some rich kid who fancied having this item,in fact didn't the Schnee girl go here?

Now that would be a funny conversation,the bigot would just have to learn to be grateful. Although after seeing proof of its effects he couldn't image the use of the item.

_Well it is a hunter academy if you were going to store the damn thing anywhere..._

"Your not as conspicuous as you think" came a soft voice from behind him

The Grey Fox turned quickly to find a tall raven haired girl standing behind him her tresses fell just over her shoulders. She was dressed in a skirt,shirt and jacket,mirroring the other students around him. Although the colour scheme was different,favoring grey and black over the red and gold. A white band on her right arm completed the attire. Her eyes were orange with red flecks amoungst them which seemed to shimmer in the light.

"And you would be?" the thief inquired recovering his poise after the shock of thinking he'd been found out.

Looking around the thief saw he'd wondered into some kind of communal area, people were sitting on the grass studying,or at the tables eating.

A particularly loud young lady who's wardrobe definatly lent too far towards pink was skipping behind a rather panicked looking thug type in heavy armor who seemed to be running for all he was worth. She was swinging an outlandish looking hammer chanting "breeeeak his leeeeegs",to the amusement of a short rabbit faunus in the background.

"Your client,Cinder Fall" she replied a smirk forming on her face,dragging the Fox out of observing the bizarre situation,"do you have what i require?"

"Yes" replied the Fox

"And were you followed or discovered?"A steel tone rang out in her voice as she demanded an answer

"Followed yes, the nature of the job no, i stole more than just your little request dear" the thief had returned to his confident cocky self after the surprise of being discovered.

"Good" the silky soft voice returned

The thief handed a rucksack to her which he had been hauling around for two weeks now,she took it.

"This is heavy you must be happy with you haul" she commented absently rummaging through to find her item.

"Carried it all the way here i have _great _stamina" the thief replied would've thrown a wink if she'd been looking at him too.

_Might as well i mean she looks good._

"Im sure" she muttered paying him no attention as she she retrieved the desired brown bag,

Cinder made movements to leave,The Thief coughed for attention,in order to demand payment but then noticed her outstretched hand,a small call card left out for him. He took it. Without a word she left.

_Win some you lose some i guess _he looked at the card a private scroll number hand written on the front _so that'll be the private vendor with too much money then _he flipped over the card to see the insignia on the back.

And for the second time this job his jaw dropped.

* * *

**Author's note**

**Hay look another one done very happy with this been thinking about switching to M so if stuff gets violent or themes get darker i won't surprise anyone,next time JNPR and others as promised.** **Also i hope i've generated some intrigue here if not oh well intro done pieces are in place its character time. Also i lied about lieing look at the pretty explosions YAY please review**

**Also another gaming reference.**

**See you round**


	3. Endurance

**_Endurance_**

**"_...on the path to Ankh the kings party was halted a village's chief and his men they stood in the road they claimed this wilderness was theirs and they would not suffer their borders violated and so as the king argued with his adviser's over a proper response, the king favoring military action the adviser's cautioning that haste was vital and action could only result in delay whereas treaty would lead to quicker resolution, meanwhile Vacuo had made utmost haste, un-delayed they arrived at Ankh just in time to see the city wall shatter and the outer districts flood with Grimm..."_**

Her blade trailed along the ground behind her footsteps echoing across the ground,where the fencer stepped the ground froze where the blade trailed it cracked and splintered,the shards of frozen earth razed into the air to join the multitude before them which swirled around the advancing fighter in a blizzard of ice. Two clear blue eyes, hard as steel,never blocked from sight,always seeing the opponent. Every other aspect of this figure obscured, Weiss Schnee truly lived up to her name. _The Ice Queen._

She advanced across the arena,her eyes flickered over her opponent a tall man in thick armor,the heiress made a terrifying opponent,a blizzard of ice slowly advancing towards you,those two blue eyes staring unblinking,everything in the way Ice Queen acted stated that the intellect behind these eyes is better and faster than the likes of _you._

Cardin mustered his resolve, he'd already been embarrassed once today, and he would be damned if he was going to be knocked out in the first round of professor Ports makeshift tourney. The mace wielding warrior took a step towards the blizzard of ice, a metal point flicked up and presented itself, Myrtenaster was ready.

_She's slow and predictable,I need to be fast get her out of her comfort zone the question is how?_

A plan presented itself,Cardin smiled seeing victory in his grasp and moved. He entered a sprint towards his opponent, ignoring the shiver of fear as the blizzard stopped it's advance, a foot stepped forward,then shuffled back a bit. Cardin swallowed and let out a growl mainly to relieve some of the tension,he was closing the distance,he couldn't go much faster in this heavy armor.

About five feet from the heiress he triggered his semblance,hitting the ground with his great mace,a massive shard of rock freed itself and spun into the air,he batted it toward the Ice Queen and followed behind it moving for a powerful horizontal strike.

The heiress' eyes narrowed,_hmpf, _she pointed Myrtenaster at the rock hurtling towards her and thumbed a switch, the revolver-rapier fired a shard of red dust which exploded on contact, shrapnel sprayed everywhere the dust shards direction and momentum shaping the majority of the blast toward the charging Cardin who brought up his left arm to protect himself,the Ice queen stepped back her blizzard catching any shrapnel directed at her. A wild un-directed swing was aimed at were she was standing before the explosion. As it swung past she stepped forward and placed her hand in the path of Cardin, who was still blindly charging, a crystal glyph formed, it shone like diamonds and exploded with massive force as Cardin ran into it, sending him sprawling to the ground.

The victorious heiress stepped forward and placed her blade point at the groaning opponents throat.

"And that's the match Cardin scores a total of zero points for his round" a gruff but happy voice echoed across the outdoor arena, the heiress dropped her blizzard and straightened herself of.

Holstering Myrtenaster,she turned and walked away. The outdoor arena allowed the sun to reach her face now that the blizzard was gone. Her combat skirt ruffled in the wind as she strode back to her ecstatic team, her frosty expression melting at the site of her team members,she gave a rare smile as she was promptly showered in praise.

"THAT WAS SOOOOOO COOL" exclaimed the young leader of team RWBY restrained from delivering a flying semblance enhanced hug by her sister. The little leader in red was a bundle of energy her cloak looked like it could barely keep up as she bounced around her team mate.

As Ruby chattered around, the going on about dust and weapon usage her three teammates grinned.

Blake beat Yang to the punch "That was pretty _ice _princess,well done" receiving a chuckle of appreciation.

Yang wasn't going to be left out " yeah, that was pretty _cool_ Weiss" all she got was the expected and by this point requisite groan of disappointment from her three teammates.

"hey how comes I always get groaned at,what about Blake huh" she asked teasingly

"well" replies the sharp tongued Heiress "it would be because hers at least have a sense of style"

The fencer couldn't keep the smile of her face, the retort losing much of it's sting as a result.

Team RWBY continued their chatter, meanwhile Cardin dragged himself up,and marched back too his team who where their with the usual moral support,he was about to launch into a rant about the stuck up Ice Queen to relieve his frustration when he spied Port making his way over however belatedly clearly desiring the aristocrats son to clear his head before any conversation.

"You almost had it there,you know" Port offered

"Yes sir" Cardin replied absently hoping the old glory hound would be on his way.

"I would listen to what elders have to say young man were not all senile all the time" Port snapped

Cardin fully turned to face him,giving his full attention.

"Your playing to strengths which is good your big and your fast and your smart, that plan would've worked in fact, if you'd went for a shoulder rather than a mace swing"The professor continued,indicating the currently discarded weapon which lay on the table.

Cardin couldn't believe his ears "I've been told that I need to control myself in combat and that I should always look to use my weapon"

"yes,you were almost six months ago but unlike a certain others I shan't name you can actually control yourself now and as a result you can probably be trusted to not let yourself get in a brawl when you could end the fight with a single swing."the professor replied he finished his review with a smile and stroked his bristling mustache. Stepping away from the hunter in training he took a deep breath.

_Who should go next?_

"The next contestant will be Miss Nikos" his voice echoed across the mostly empty arena,only JNPR RWBY and CRDL had been invited to this,all others in their year were away on their various assignments still. The market square breach having grounded these three teams for a while.

"And the first opponents will be team RWBY again although miss Schnee will go last."

Phyrra strode out into the arena with the encouragement of Jaune and Ren behind her and the downright cheer-leading of Nora echoing in the stadium.

"GOOOO PYRRRHAAAA"

The huntress clad in golden armor made her way onto the field, a brief scuffle ensued within team RWBY,the teams namesake making a dash for the arena before being tripped up by a expertly thrown ribbon, Gambol Shroud further proving it's function as an over-eager Ruby restrainer. Blake having claimed the right to go first went out to meet the sword wielding warrior whose shield still rested on her back.

* * *

Ozpin lent back in his seat the viewing boxes which were situated far above the battleground and as such none of the contestants knew he was observing. The sun shone down into the box illuminating the highlights of gold on the red furniture. Several high back deep chairs positioned so one could comfortably watch the contestants in the shade. Ozpin was fairly sure of the victor of this bout but that wasn't the purpose of Port's tourney.

In truth the old headmaster was slightly galled that he hadn't thought of this first,seeing as being able to fight at peak condition for extended periods of time is a skill hunters often rely on.

A polite knock on the wall behind him made Ozpin twist round in his seat to see who had found his little hideaway.

"Hello James" Ozpin opened,recognizing the general by his white glove as he stepped into view.

The general as usual was resplendent in his dress uniform. A white overcoat reflecting in the sunlight,his red tie and grey undercoat combo offset it well and painted him as a high ranking officer of the Atlesian military,the glove for those who understood the traditions of the northerners was there to signal that this officer was the primary liaison between the military complex and the civilian government,an iron fist in a silk glove.

"Greetings,so what brings you up here today?" replies the Atlesian Commander a slight frown on his face.

"The tourney"the head master gestured below where Phyrra had started to circle Blake who was standing still waiting for the invincible girl to initiate.

"The contestant,in this case miss Nikos in the red and gold, keep fighting until they lose fighting against multiple opponents one after another who've have been instructed to spare nothing in trying to eliminate them,this forces a conservative and analytic style if the contestant hopes to make progress taking advantage of their opponents lack of restraint..."

"Much like fighting Grimm"the commander interjected as he took a seat within Ozpin's view but not blocking his site of the arena.

"...a large amount of Grimm"the Ozpin agreed finishing with a pull from his ever present coffee mug.

Ironwood took in the man sitting across from him,he was tall standing he would reach 6 and a half foot easily,his brown eyes twinkling over his glasses which the commander swore were far to low on his nose to be of any use,his attire was typical for him unchanging through all these years an unzipped black suit and vest with an assortment of shades of green making up his scarf ,under-shirt and trousers. His cane rested at the side of his chair.

"I came here to try and salvage your support"opened James after a brief silence.

Ozpin had turned to see Blake catch Milo Pyrrha's weapon which was currently shifted into a spear in her ribbon and yank it from her hands,only to be blind-sided by the Golden warriors shield Akoúo̱ which had been thrown with Pyrrha's semblance in a wide curving arc that would've been impossible if her particular semblance hadn't been polarity, Pyrrha's control of magnetic fields making it very difficult to face her traditionally.

Pyrrha made a dash for her weapon the small round shield extended before her,it having flown back into her hands, Blake was trying to recover from the concussive hit form earlier. When she saw Pyrrha's movement the faunus acted quickly to secure a victory against the unarmed opponent,she used her shadows to accelerate getting in the charging huntress' path,moving to smash her cleaver into the ground accelerating it with her aura to produce a shock wave which would disable her opponent. However Blake failed, her blade suddenly yanked sideways by an invisible force,and then Pyrrha crashed into the faunus knocking her to the ground and using her shield to keep Blake in place as she straddled her opponent and pulled gambol shroud from her hands,Blake disarmed and incapacitated,was defeated and made her way out of the arena as Ruby jumped in ignoring the protestations of Yang to continue Phyrra's trial.

"You still have it" replied Ozpin returning to their conversation after a brief silence"I am not the person who would damage security for spite"

He was getting angry he knew he shouldn't...couldn't.

"Good" the general replied"in which case I was wondering whether the teams below us will still go to their assignments"

"Yes, except team RWBY they've completed theirs and after the shamble on the train I want to spend some time emphasizing teamwork over personal need for vengeance or one-upmanship that they exhibited" Ozpin answered, he was becoming frustrated at little things,movements and gestures from his would be ally, his apparent inability to reach a simple conclusion,Ozpin's own concerns regarding this man's ability to secure the Vytal tournament.

"I am guessing these are your next prodigies then"James offered,shifting in his seat.

Ozpin stiffened in his seat,_ there not just parts they aren't just replaced like that _memories resurfaced of a failure which weighed so heavily upon him,a spike of anger at the James' lack of tact.

_Calm down,this isn't useful..._

**_ARE YOU SURE?_**

Ozpin was momentarily startled and took a long draw from his coffee mug,that was a voice he hadn't heard for a long time.

"Yes,I suppose they are" he replied clearing his throat and mind with the assistance of the coffee.

A buzzer went off in the room,breaking the momentary silence,James who was about to continue looked down,his scroll being the offender,he read the message sent to him.

"Damn thing"he mumbled coughing to revert to formality"it was good to speak with you Oz"

"Yes it was" Ozpin replied not quite managing the smile he would usually offer.

Ironwood had begun to make his exit "well im glad of your support and its good to see all is in order,convey my best to the teams"

Ozpin nodded toward the man as he made his way out, coattails catching the breeze slightly as Ironwood opened the door making his exit and closing it behind him.

Ozpin returned to watching the the tourney just in time to see Ruby make her first move.

* * *

**Authors note**

**Next time ill finish the tourney or at least the relevant part and we will move to spending some time with team JNPR,this took far to long and i ended up stopping here purely to upload something.**

**As ever reviews are welcome**

**See you round.**


	4. Knock out

_**Knock out**_

"_**...the hunters of Vacuo fought in the city, drawing on arts of combat from the whole of Remnant they saved lives and indebted the people to them as they drove the Grimm from the city joined by the hunters of Ankh they numbered the greatest gathering of hunters and huntresses ever,and as the last of the black ichor burned away in the dawn they claimed victory destroying the great horde utterly,the dispersing bodies of the monsters revealed the great cost the city had paid and the warriors had paid to save it,thousands of civilians slaughtered,hundreds of the finest and foremost hunters struck down,and on the blood of the fallen and in the name of the leading family of Vacuo the Hunter-general of Vacuo swore an oath of alliance which bound the two great kingdoms of Ankh and Vacuo together. The army of Vale having no knowledge of the victory had determined to push past those who blocked their path only to find themselves ambushed by those who had stopped them earlier,it appeared that theses men were at least once in the service of the merchant lords a single snowflake emblazoned on their body armour, they fought the king and his knight protectors who were leading the column,after victory over the ambuscade the king was furious. He took his advisers and knights and left his army behind. Arriving just in time to witness the burial of the great leader of Ankh who had won over peoples hearts and minds so often, the king was ostracised by the crowds and driven away, the people of Ankh who had lost so much blamed Vale for the death of so many believing their inefficacy to be the cause, and so the people of Ankh looked for another way to protect themselves. A scientist from Vacuo had the answer. He was a politician a fanatic a leader and he intended to lead..."**_

* * *

Pyrrha took a deep breath her sparkling green eyes adjusting to the light reflecting of the massive blade that Ruby lugged around. She had beaten Blake even though it had been very close and very sloppy,now observing the little leader before her red corset and combat skirt bracing in the wind,the cloak blowing out to the right reminding Pyrrha of a certain very dead nevermore,she thought of the other aspect of this tourney Blake hadn't been very scary, the bared teeth had been disconcerting and constantly dispersing and reappearing had been nerve racking but she'd managed,looking at Ruby standing there a little grin on her slightly blown out cheeks red with panting following the effort of escaping Yang to get into the arena before her sister who now sat pouting on the side, Weiss was staring again,she was determined to learn everything she could from Pyrrha but too self aware and stubborn to ask for help,

_I wish you luck with that Miss Schnee._

Blake was rubbing her arm whilst she settled into the bench,Pyrrha hadn't realised she'd actually hit through Blake aura and had to bite back her habitual "I'm Sorry!"

_Apologize later win now _her inner competitor urged,Pyrrha obeyed and shifted to sprint, Ruby cocked her head sideways and did something odd. She lowered her hood,it was far to big for her and obscured her face almost entirely, the visible chin cast in shadow,but it utterly transformed her without those winking silver eyes and goofy grin she made an entirely different impression, A grim reaper in red,her oversized scythe didn't seem nearly as ridiculous now and with a sharp report of the rifle function of her scythe she was gone, a blur of petals tracing her path.

Phyrra stopped and turned eyes widening at the sight of a red cloak blazing towards her a tornado of petals spraying across the arena,she flashed back to their food fight at the beginning of the term and grinned, she raised her shield and threw her sword to the ground,it telescoped out to its spear form and was subsequently dragged upright,attaching to the shield with a metal clang, forming some-kind of extremely odd looking road-sign, Pyrrha braced behind her shield, using her semblance to drive the spear point into the ground anchoring her shield and therefore herself. Ruby raced in her features becoming visible as she neared her hood having blown off, a huff of exertion had blown out her cheeks her forehead wrinkled in determination and her eyes sparkling with the joy of combat, her strike was already en route when she crashed into the waiting golden clad fighter.

Ruby quite literally bounced. An echoing crash signalled her thumping into the ground, Crescent Rose her weapon and "sweetheart" to quote the reckless cookie lover skidding out of her hands and embedding into the wall through team JNPR's bench, Jaune jumping up with a yelp to dodge the deadly projectile which reduced the bench to splinters on it path.

Nora had been well out of harms reach seeing as she was standing up in the spectators ring shouting out support alternately for the two fighters,Ren who had seen Pyrrha's quick moves had stepped sideways quite some time earlier,Jaune's questioning look having been replaced by horror when he saw the scythe's path.

As Ruby staggered to her feet groaning and off balance, she had enough time to see Pyrrha hadn't faired much better before the proverbial tweeting birds carried her from the land of consciousness the speedy fighter slumping to the ground well and truly out of the fight.

Pyrrha certainly hadn't done any better, she was in disbelief as she rocketed across the arena her trusted shield had spiralled out of her hand, her spear whose shaft had taken the hit from the scythe stood forlornly in the ground,bent at such an unnatural angle that if it was a living thing a surgeon would check his watch. She heard the sound of Yang's gauntlet shotguns Ember Cecilia firing their explosive shot and just before she crashed into the wall,she crashed into something much softer.

_By Oum Ruby hits hard!_ was Pyrrha last thought before impact,her and Yang impacted into the wall in a tangled mess of limbs, both catapulted from consciousness by the red reaper's strike.

* * *

Yang was lost again...She just had terrible memory for places, seeing the hunters memorial from a distance just peaking over an outhouse she sauntered towards it. Yang was pretty certain you could see the first year dorm from there.

She was clad in her usual attire shorts and over jacket combo looking as good as ever in her estimation,yellow shirt visible through the slightly open jacket, her philosophy of _well if you've got it you may as well use it _continuing its trend in severely distracting the opposite gender at all times.

She struck out a rhythm as she walked the sound of her boots striking the ground timed with her clicking fingers to recreate the beat of her favoured tune. She murmured a line as she neared the ancient monument,_pyromaniac my desire,_humming a few more beats as she forgot the words then murmuring again slightly louder_ Human torch can't mess with me..._

Continuing her reprisal she turned a corner and onto the main path,spying another figure standing before the monument she quickened her pace hoping for someone with a better sense of direction,the figure was dressed in black leggings and shorts with a red and black robe, raven hair coiling down just below her shoulders she turned bright red eyes gleaming in the night.

"What..no..." Yang stutters

"We have a lot to talk bout" she states

Yang stammers out a reply her eyes lighting their lilac banished in an instant"I've done this already you told me that..."

"Yaaaaaaang" came a nasal penetrating voice from the void.

* * *

Young startled awake from her sleep. Ruby needed her help,she went to get up, a sharp pain in her arm making her take in her surroundings,there was a lot of white which coalesced into a long room of beds,she was in one of the said beds and her arm was in a sling,_dammit how'd that..._

"See told you" Yang refocused on the voice finally noticing the two figures standing near her,

"I don't see how..." replied a man in a white coat who was looking defeated.

"She's my big sis she'll always look out for me"Yang swelled with pride at the statement from Ruby,who had defaulted to her goofy grin, held out her hand towards the doctor who sighed and reached into his coat pocket pulling out a box with his lunch in it and dispensing a chocolate chip cookie into the waiting palm.

Yang had just remembered what had happened in the arena when she put two and two together,

"Did you seriously call out like that just to wake me up" she demanded disbelieving the evidence,

"mhm hmm"replied Ruby the chocolate chip cookie suffering its terrible fate as the little leader consumed it far too quickly stuffing her mouth in the process.

The doctor flashed an irritated look at Ruby "I said you wouldn't be up for two hours at least,she disagreed so I said I she woke you up without jumping on you she could have a cookie"

"Anything for a cookie,huh" Yang feigned a look of hurt

"mhm yup" Ruby replied committing the remains of the cookie to its fate,completely ignoring Yang's theatrics. She gave another goofy grin followed by a yelp a she was dragged in to a hug,

as Ruby fought for freedom Yang realized that she was in full control of both arms,the doctor reading her mind cut in "sprained not broken" he gave a smile and stalked off to go care for others in Beacon's miniature hospital.

"I'm sorry sis this was all my fault"mumbled Ruby into the bear hug"I love you"

"Well id been surprised if you didn't I mean I am amazing" Yang flashed a smile at the slightly downcast Ruby as she was released from her interment,"also no guilt yeah?"

"Yeah I guess" mumbled Ruby switching to a flashing smile.

"How's Pyrrha?" Yang inquired realizing that if she had a sprained arm,then Pyrrha must be at least a bit worse off. Ruby's smile disappeared.

_And you were doing so well Yang dammit now look at her_

"less good" Ruby returned to her mumbling, a downcast look hiding her silver eyes.

"well I'm sure she's fine go, get Weiss and Blake,and ill go have a chat with our invincible girl yeah"

"yeah" Ruby replied taking the offered out,she dashed for the double doors disappearing into the rest of the academy,the doors swinging loudly as she made her exit.

Yang swung her legs out over the bed,all she was missing from her combat gear was her boots someone had cleaned Ember Cecilia and placed them on the bedside table,she whispered thanks to the unknown soul who had done her the favour and slipped them on. The gauntlets gave her confidence in a lot of ways a symbol of her strength and progress. She was one of the few who made it to Beacon and in her mind the shotgun gauntlets were all of that in physicality.

Feeling better,Yang tried to enter her usual confident swagger and quickly realized she had bruised her back and side when she had used the recoil of the gauntlets to launch herself into the path of Pyrrha,so instead she half hobbled-walked over to the drawn curtains around the furthest bed.

She pulled them back and revealed a heartening and at least a little bit humorous sight,Pyrrha was propped up on three cushions fully awake, eyes sparkling with a smile plastered across her face,and at her side, holding her hand and snoring was Jaune who'd pulled up a chair at some point,so he could be comfortable because knowing Jaune he wouldn't have left unless they were going to put him into the hospital bed next door.

He and Ruby were very different leaders. Ruby was a warrior she lead a combat squad,Jaune was a friend he lead a team, and as such he would've been at the side of any injured teammate though the holding hands thing probably wouldn't have carried through.

Yang opened her mouth to speak but was dismissed by a shake of the head and the unoccupied hand raising a finger to Pyrrha's lips in the universal sign of be quiet. The injured warrior gestured to a chair next to another bed Yang nodded,flexed her neck allowing her long golden hair to partition out and went to get the chair,she dragged it over and after a disgruntled glance from Pyrrha **quietly **placed it beside her bed, Yang took her seat and dragged her mane in front of her and began the process of combing out tangles and straightening it up as best she could.

"I wanted ask how you are" started the golden brawler,making contact with Pyrrha's green eyes.

"And I need to thank you" she said in a hushed voice clearly trying to avoid waking Jaune,

"Don't worry about it, okay" Yang offered, a frown settling on her face from the urgency present in Pyrrha voice,

"It's not that,...it's just I landed head first if you hadn't..." her eloquent speech would've hid her fear at the thought if her eyes didn't give it away.

"I doesn't matter if I hadn't because I did"Yang reached out and grabbed Pyrrha's shoulder.

"But I want you to know I'm grateful and also could you make sure the Ruby doesn't find out her guilt would ruin our friendship" Pyrrha rushed out feeling dishonest in a way for asking this of Yang.

"Don't worry I've got it covered" Yang did her best to radiate assurance with a smile "now that that's sorted I just wanted to say you seem quite pleased" Yang nodded towards the sleeping Jaune Pyrrha's demeanour immediately lightened.

"Yeah it's nice...he's nice" a slight blush coloured the huntress in training's cheeks.

"oh I'm certain" Yang replied implying whatever Pyrrha's imagination cared to fill in the blanks with,the redheads cheeks flamed in response,

"no its not...he's not" she stammered

"relax girl I'm teasing" Yang saved Pyrrha from her awkwardness, "you'd best return to your cool collected self before he wakes up... do you know how Port's madness wrapped up?"

"yes, I got two points,erm Jaune said that Ren won it with four" Pyrrha summed up

"really damn and I though I had that fifty lien down too" Yang grumbled

"yeah he beat all of your team and Jaune,Nora got him though"Pyrrha finished

"ah trouble in paradise"Yang joked

"well you know their not together together" said Pyrrha cracking into a grin as she stated the ginger haired hammer wielders automatic response.

"I cant believe you actually just said that,your over exposed to that psychopath"Yang chuckled at the now generic response to any and all accusation's of Nora and Ren spending a suspicious amount of time together although by the way Ren seemed to be resigned to his fate there didn't seem to be anything to it.

"hay, don't say that she's a good friend"Pyrrha replied unaware of the trap she had just stepped into.

"oh,I'm certain"

"SHUTUP YANG"

* * *

**Authors note**

**So it turns out that writing for Yang is just fantastic fun also a beacon of hope in a castle of ice:II by jorge10466 is out so go read that cos its amazing.**

**Reviews would be massively appreciated**

**there is more coming the next chapter may be very long as I tend to write this on a scene by scene basis,**

**See you round**


	5. A Special Kind of Madness

_**A Special Kind of Madness**_

"_**...this man, Karl Midas, came to Ankh and preached in the streets,inns and halls, anywhere he could find an audience, his message; Grimm are attracted to all things human, that the the only way to protect ourselves was to conceal ourselves from them, and it was common knowledge that art gave feeling and that Grimm were attracted to feeling, this...twisted logic was close enough to the truth that those who were grieving, with anger in their hearts followed him. He used this to start the purges, drunken mobs burning books and paintings in the streets only factual documents -those that agreed with his madness where unscathed- this sickness spread from the outer suburbs where the Grimm had killed so many to the city and as Grimm attacks were reported to have lessoned, he rode a wave of adulation into the politics of the city and as he rallied and mustered to become the kingdoms leader he told all of how there were indebted to Vacuo that they should join with the other kingdom that Atlas and Mistral had betrayed them and that Vale was too inept to help. He spread rumours which would reach the ears of the king of Vale and as guardian of the the people Prime-counsellor for life Karl Midas ascended to the ruler-ship of Ankh, and all an unknown scientist needed to do this was some twisted facts in a time of need an ally in Vacuo who kept the Grimm away and some knowledge of the origin of the knight protectors of Vale..."**_

* * *

Ozpin took in his surroundings,a mild breeze catching his unbuttoned black suit,he was in an old hall located in forever fall forest. The ancient stone work had crumbled away, eighty years of decay showed in every facet of the structure the upper floors were basically gone although such damage was far beyond natures wrath, Ozpin closed his eyes flashing back to the acrid smell of burning wood in the air,the shouts and screams of battle outside, a window smashed as someone is thrown through it, orders echoed through the forest ,the rafters creaked and burned the flames licking the walls, the ceiling collapsed around him a flaming spar splintering as it crashed into the floor a figure stalked through the flaming ruins towards him wreathed in shadow...

Ozpin let go the breath he was holding and opened his eyes, a vine had snaked its way through an ancient mosaic portraying a warrior clad in gold, a purple cloak flowing behind him raising his shield against a great dragon of Grimm,the Hydra breathed blue fire upon the warrior and behind him his king stood safe from harm, ancient text long decayed beyond reading lettered the bottom of the mosaic, it was an excerpt from an oath, Ozpin didn't need to read it he remembered it well enough, _and by my shoulder,protect thee. _

"_**this was your home once" **_whispered a voice in his mind.

"once yes"Ozpin agreed this voice was a devil from his past he had overcome it before he would again

"_**you could've saved it"**_ the voice announced sounding like a statesman winning over the crowd

"not then" Ozpin mummers back,he reached for his coffee mug finding it gone, _I guess I wouldn't have it here would I _his lips pursed in thought.

"_**and not now,your too weak I could give you strength" **_the voice continued its preaching uninhibited.

"victory doesn't lie in strength alone" Ozpin returned the familiar words forming quickly

"_**it did before" **_the voice countered the rebuttal

"that was weakness" Ozpin stated this conversation was circular,he could not win on this ground

"_**that was power!" **_the voice retuned growing in intensity.

"I am done here now" Ozpin said willing his mind to return to reality and to banish this intruder for a while.

"_**very well, we will talk again" **_the voice sounded smug it had learnt much since its last opportunity it was determined to have total victory this time.

"I have no choice in this do I" Ozpin probed for a sign of weakness before he left

"_**no" **_the voice's rebuke echoed as the scene faded.

* * *

The crumbled stone work replaced with its more complete brethren. The shattered roof; spars and limbs of wood poking out to the sky replaced with the inner workings of a great clock, an airship buzzed outside, on his table stood a ceramic mug, the hot liquid within betraying its presence by steaming, Ozpin fully woke, he stood up from his chair seeing a note pinned to his desk.

Glynda's -his deputy- elegant text was scrawled across it,Mr Harper has replied confirming JNPR allocation JNPR and CRDN leave tomorrow SSSN have returned to Vale PD ,CFVY have started training other second years are returning third years have sent back reports, James has bid you his best he said he is being dragged off for some real politik with speaker Schnee, no white fang activity. _The note ended with some good news for once. _Ozpin chuckled at his expectant pessimism and reached for his mug straightening out and creaking his neck rubbing some life back into his muscle's he knew sleeping in that chair was uncomfortable but he did it anyway,much to Glynda's chagrin. He would have a long day today by the looks of it, he smiled and took a long draft of the steaming coffee, placed down the mug and went to get changed.

* * *

**Author's note**

**so short so sorry time constraints GAHHH, Pyrrha's welcome back to the dorm will have to wait Ozpin's gonna have some conversations, our resident bad guys will get a scene may even loiter with RWBY**

**and then were off to a little village also PLOT is a thing I need to advance **

**Q:why so slow?**

**A:Schooling's a bitch**

**However exam season will be gone and past in about 3 months and then im free to write my little heart out [also Smite but lets not talk about that addiction as-well :) ]**

**Reviews are appreciated**

**See you round**


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